Still sick.

[clex_monkie89]

Yet back in class so I don't fail.

Today I have discovered;

• The origin of the phrase "shoot your wad."


• That most double-barrel shotguns have two triggers so that each barrel may be shot one at a time.


• That I have my Physical Evidence midterm on October 11th--a few hours before I hop a plane to WinCon.


• Why muskets are called muskets.


• If it isn't written down it never happened.


• Sawed-off shotguns are not illegal so long as they are still a certain length.


• I will have to solve a crime with three other students for my Final Project in this class.


• Bayonets were created so you could stab someone after you missed shooting them because it took too long to reload back then.


• Early firearms were often used as clubs for the above-mentioned reason.


• Plate armor was not created until after firearms came about (therefor King Arthur would not be wearing any in any movie).


• The difference between a revolver and a pistol.


• The difference between a semi-automatic gun and a fully-automatic gun (machine gun).


• It rains a lot in Scotland.


• And France.


• And England.


• An English monk was the first person to write down the formula for black powder (the first gunpowder).


• A German monks was the first person to use black powder to shoot a projectile.


• Not to anger monks.


• Firearms have been around since the 1300's.


• Other stuff too.

There is a reason I have an icon with the keywords "Weapons Yay!"

I will do something productive today, watch me.

Comments

[astrothsknot.livejournal.com]

I know some of them, but not all of them. Care ato add a little more detail, esp on what kind of firearms were around in the 1300s - I thought pistols and rifles were invented around the 16thC. I thought only cannons were around before that.

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

I can totally type up my notes from class and post them (because guns are way cool). The earliest firearms were actually like somewhat smaller canons and required two people to use them (one to hold and aim and another to light the fuse).

[astrothsknot.livejournal.com]

only if it's not too much bother. Your health and your education is more important

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

It's not too much of a bother. Repetition is good for the brain anyway, rereading them and typing them up will help me not to fail my midterm. :P

[smidgy06.livejournal.com]

And this really has nothing to do with anything but your post reminded me of it. There was some show many years ago some courtroom show, it may have been Matlock and there was someone being questioned and one of the things he said was along the lines of "Where is he going with that sawed-off shot gun." And okay, it so isn't funny just being typed like that but the delivery of it was so deadpan and almost sarcastic that uhm, apparently all these years later it still makes me giggle.

Huh uh.

So, where does "shoot your wad" come from?

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

Deadpan sarcasm FTW! I have no idea what you're talking about in regards to the show but I can hear the line in my head after you described it and it is very funny.

A wad is a small piece of leather used when loading a musket (a front--or muzzle--loading guns). The black powder is put in first and packed down. Next comes the leather--the wad--which is pushed in tight to make a better seal for the black powder so it may create a better explosion. After that comes the projectile--the bullet. Essentially when you shoot a musket you shoot your wad (and your projectile).

[tabaqui]

Awesome stuff. I wanna take whatever class *you* are taking.
:)

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

Your standard Physical Evidence class. My teacher rocks very hard though.

[cormallen.livejournal.com]

Wow, sounds like a fun class! In one of my undergrad classes, I remember reading re-loading/firing instructions for soldiers in the Napoleonic wars - and they contained stuff like, "bite off the paper covering and hold the bullet with your teeth while you pour the gunpowder in" and "aim at the worst, strongest, meanest enemy you see" - and ended with "shoot, the devil take you and may god have mercy on your soul." The commentary in the textbook along with those instructions (which were translated from the French) pretty much clarified that if you were extremely practiced, you could get off two shots a minute, so bayonets were used much more often than bullets.

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

It's really amazing how incredibly different firearms were back then compared to what we have now, huh?

[lunardreamed.livejournal.com]

So, why are muskets called muskets?

[lunardreamed.livejournal.com]

And the differences between firearms.

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

The difference between what firearms? Muskets and modern firearms? Modern firearms are breech loading--they load at the back of the gun.

[lunardreamed.livejournal.com]

Oh. You mentioned learning the diff between rifle and pistol, and semi and auto.

But I'll remember this one too.

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

A revolver and a pistol. A revolver is called that because it has a revolving chamber (where the cartridges are kept) whereas a pistol has a magazine (the long clip you see people slide into handles on TV and in movies).

The "automatic" in semi-automatic weapon and fully-automatic weapon refers to how the next round of ammunition is loaded. A semi-automatic will load a new round into the gun on it's own every time you squeeze the trigger until you run out of bullets. A fully-automatic is different because when you pull the trigger and hold it down it will keep loading new rounds and shooting until you either let go of the trigger or run ou of ammunition.

In summation: semi-automatic's shoot one bullet per trigger squeeze, fully-automatics shoot multiple bullets if you hold down the trigger.

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

Muskets are called muskets because they are firearms loaded from the muzzle--the part of the gun you point at someone to shoot.

[lunardreamed.livejournal.com]

Darn. I was hoping for something a little weirder.

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

Aw, sorry!

[star-dancer54.livejournal.com]

Dude, this is FASCINATING. Clearly you must tell us everything :)

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

I'll totally type up my notes for y'all to see.

[britomart-is.livejournal.com]

Dude, are you studying forensic pathology/forensic anthro? That's awesome. Has been steadily taking over my life for some time now. And knowing all the ballistics and weaponry is very very fun. *geeks out with you*

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

I'm still in my two-year right now but I'm working on two degrees--one of them being Evidence Technology (as a precursor to forensic pathology). Aren't ballistics and firearms just INSANE fun? :D

[liamar13.livejournal.com]

Today I have discovered;

-Not to anger monks.*snicker*

that is all.

p.s. this post totally made my day for no other reason that it made me smile plus means i have to learn nothing else today since i already acquired atleast 15 new facts. *bows down to the wise one*

[tsukinofaerii.livejournal.com]

Plate armor was not created until after firearms came about (therefor King Arthur would not be wearing any in any movie).

I have to dispute this. Besides the fact that movies are notorious for getting details wrong, you just said that firearms were created in the 1300s. If King Arther were to be reincarnated sometime after that magical mark where both plate armor and firearms co-existed, he could very easily appear in a historically-accurate film with plate armor. Also, Merlin supposedly was able to see through the veil of time, so he might have made Arther the armor before it was actually invented. Of course, it would be magical armor, but it would still be plates!

You knew someone was going to bring up reincarnation.